cmsintro 2017 sketchpad

Enduring Understandings

These are points we want students to remember long after the masterclass:

Particle physics research requires the use of indirect evidence to support claims.

The Standard Model is the current theoretical framework for our understanding of matter.

The behavior of particles is governed by conservation laws and mass-energy conversion.

Philosophy

This is how we try to go about it:

Students analyze data from engaging, interective event displays.

All data is from actual events in the CMS detector released for educational or public use.

The tasks should be sufficient and challenging enough to engage students and help them gain physica s insight by asking good questions.

The tasks should be seen as doable by all students with a minimal high school physics background.

The event analysis uses pattern recognition but takes students beyond it by leaving scope for judgement, anomallies, and imperfect data.

Event analyses stress the probabilistic nature of the data, the importance of statistics, and determining how to distinguish signal from background.

Recommendations for a Successful CMS Masterclass

N students - N≤30 - N/2 computers - N/10 mentors/tutors

The optimal number of students is about 30 or fewer. It is possible to have more but please proceed cautiously.

Two students to a computer: they can help each other and check each other's judgements.

At least one physicist to every 10 students. In some cases, a teacher with a developed background in masterclasses can help bend this ratio.

Enduring Understandings

Philosophy

Recommendations for a Successful CMS Masterclass

These are points we want students to remember long after the masterclass:

Particle physics research requires the use of indirect evidence to support claims.

The Standard Model is the current theoretical framework for our understanding of matter.

The behavior of particles is governed by conservation laws and mass-energy conversion.

This is how we try to go about it:

Students analyze data from engaging, interective event displays.

All data is from actual events in the CMS detector released for educational or public use.

The tasks should be sufficient and challenging enough to engage students and help them gain physica s insight by asking good questions.

The tasks should be seen as doable by all students with a minimal high school physics background.

The event analysis uses pattern recognition but takes students beyond it by leaving scope for judgement, anomallies, and imperfect data.

Event analyses stress the probabilistic nature of the data, the importance of statistics, and determining how to distinguish signal from background.

N≤30 students

The optimal number of students is about 30 or fewer. It is possible to have more but please proceed cautiously.

N/2 computers

Two students to a computer: they can help each other and check each other's judgements.

N/10 mentors/tutors

At least one physicist to every 10 students. In some cases, a teacher with a developed background in masterclasses can help bend this ratio.

This project is supported in part by the National Science Foundation and the Office of High Energy Physics, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation or Department.